Timber Ridge Ski Area

Stuff gets stolen here all the time. Not the most friendly workers. Not the best atmosphere to go skiing and snowboarding. Only thing positive is the bar area. The bar here is really fun and the food is good too.

Just home from Timber Ridge! We took our Girl Scout Junior Troop skiing and tubing and we all had a wonderful time. The ski instruction was ideal and kept their attention. There were two «bunny» hills with pulley ropes for the girls to learn on. The tubing was really fun — three long runs and a handy conveyor system to get you and the tube to the top. The college kids helping with equipment rental, running the tubes and helping on the hills were so kind and helpful to the scouts and adults.
My only complaint is the food at the lodge was really icky and we were kicked out of the empty dining room by a very disagreeable older woman because we had packed our own lunches. For a $ 40 lift ticket, we shouldn’t have been relegated to picnic tables in a drafty hallway. We bought drinks and snacks at the lodge and still got kicked out of the dining room. A bit upsetting.
But that grouchy lady was the ONLY unkind, unwelcoming person at the whole place! We’re coming back with our family and avoiding the dining room.
Stayed at the Kzoo Holiday Inn West which was super nice, large pool, and free sit-​down breakfast for kids.

Good base, but still a little pricey. With discounts $ 70 for 3 for lift tickets.
Staff is outstanding, especially ski patrol.

We have been to Timber Ridge twice now, and both times everyone had fun. We took advantage of the Wednesday 2 for 1 deal last week, which makes a single person’s rate for a full day of lift and rentals equal to $ 22. Not too bad!
The hill is not that large, which is a good thing when taking people who have never been on a pair of skis.
Equipment here does seem to leave a little to be desired. I have never found a pair of boots that felt good. I realize that with rentals you never get really good equipment, but this place seems to have only the bare minimum/​basic stuff. I like to have some adjustments for the front and heel area in my boots, but none can be found here. I have had several experiences with small kids not having their bindings setup correctly the first time, but after a second trip to the mechanics they seem to work ok. And good luck finding a pair of poles that are straight… aint gonna happen!
Snow conditions last week were pretty good. Lots of natural snow is dumped here based on the proximity of Lake Michigan. They had a 48 inch base last week, with lots of decent powder on groomed trails. There were some trails that hadn’t been groomed well, or were iced over from a recent warm-​up, so going from a decent track to an ice covered one was a bit disconcerting (especially for newbies!)
The far northern trail (Willow) was only open for a few hours in the afternoon, and shut down before the lights really took affect for the nighttime skiing. It would have been nice to have it open longer.
Altogether though, a great place for learning to ski and getting ready for bigger hills.

Went for tubing. The runs need more excitement like little moguls and whatnot.$ 15 for only 2 hours is a little steep too. Especially when you spend time waiting in line. The best part is that you don’t have to walk back up the hill, there’s a nice tow rope that brings you back up!